I graduate from NC State in a couple of weeks. Although I am excited to start a new journey, I canât help but think about how I got here. Of course, I wish I had done some things differently, but if I had, I wouldnât be where I am today, and for that, I am completely grateful.Â
Everyone says college is the time to find yourself. But the truth is⊠I spent the first year and a half trying to be someone else. I was constantly trying to âfit in.â I thought I needed to be more southern, more preppy, more religious. But really, instead of finding myself, I was losing who I was.Â
Freshman year, I kept waiting for opportunities instead of going out and finding them. I wouldnât go to things if I didnât have someone to go with. I kept seeing my friends from high school posting with new friends on social media, and I remember thinking everyone already had it all figured out. I thought I was the only one scrolling on my phone on a Wednesday night because I didnât know anyone to go to the frat wine night with. I had thought everyone had already made their friend groups, and that was it. That was how it would be for the next four years. How naive was I?Â
In hindsight, my biggest regret of college is not leaving my room more. Being too afraid to do things on my own left me closed off from so many opportunities. I donât know why I thought I would be judged for showing up somewhere alone, but looking back, I canât believe I felt this way. Everyone is in the same boat as you are.Â
So, my advice to you isâŠÂ
Donât stay in your dorm. There are so many opportunities that come with being a college student. Use them. Use the facilities, go to the craft center, join clubs, play intramural sports, sit with new people in the dining halls, explore the town around your campus, go to your college’s sporting events, or simply do your school work outside or in your campus library. Countless possibilities are waiting for you outside, but you have to be okay with leaving the comfort of your dorm walls to find them. You never know who you will meet or what you will find when you arenât sitting in your room. I canât count the number of times I walked around campus in the four years I have been here and stumbled upon a campus or club event. From Free Moms to Shack-a-thon to Pause for Paws, NC State always had something going on. If I hadnât left my room, I would have missed them all.Â
Once I graduate, I still might not be able to say I’ve found myself, but I’ve found opportunities, amazing friends, and more confidence in myself and my independence.
My point is⊠everyone feels a little lost at first. The difference is what you do with that feeling. You can let it keep you in your room, or you can use it as a reason to get outside and explore the opportunities your campus has to offer.